Asia's leading manufacturing AX expo, The Smart Factory + Automation World (AW) 2026, has commenced, taking place from March 4-6, 2026, at Coex in Seoul, South Korea. The event will occupy the entire Coex venue and mark the largest edition in the show's history. Under the theme, "Autonomy, the Driver of Sustainability," AW 2026 is signaling a shift from a traditional smart factory and digital transformation (DX) focused exhibition to a next-generation industrial platform centered on AI and humanoid-driven autonomous manufacturing.
Industrial PC (IPC) vendor Advantech held its 2025 fourth quarter and full-year earnings conference on March 4, 2026, chaired by Chairman K.C. Liu, President Eric Chen, and President of the Embedded Sector Miller Chang. They explained how the company leveraged growing edge AI demand to drive overall operations to new highs despite uncertainties from geopolitical tensions, tariffs, and supply chain fluctuations.
Touch chipmaker Elan held an investor briefing on March 3, 2026, sharing a positive outlook despite challenges in the PC sector. The company noted that customers are accelerating orders ahead of expected cost increases, making the first quarter of 2026 a seasonally strong quarter rather than a typical slowdown. While overall PC shipments may be pressured by memory supply constraints throughout 2026, Elan expects demand to concentrate on high-end products, boosting shipments of its advanced-spec offerings.
OpenAI is developing an alternative to GitHub, Microsoft's popular code repository that lets software engineers store, share, and collaborate on computer code, according to The Information, citing unnamed sources. The project is still nascent and likely won't be completed for months. OpenAI could ultimately decide not to release the product publicly, reserving it for in-house developers only.
Keysight Technologies forecasts rapid growth in AI infrastructure testing and verification through 2026 as deployments expand from chip-level to cluster-scale, Taiwan chairman and General Manager David Lo said, noting AI is reshaping semiconductor design, 6G architecture, and cybersecurity.
Excellence Optoelectronics reported a new monthly revenue high of NT$606 million (approx. US$19.31 million) for February 2026, a 7.38% increase from January and a 31.58% rise year-over-year, continuing momentum after the group's return to profitability in 2025.
Google Taiwan marked its 20th anniversary this year, highlighting its evolution into a major hardware and AI infrastructure hub outside the company's US headquarters. At a March 4 press event, executives outlined priorities for talent development and social applications of AI.
With military conflicts escalating in the Middle East, United Microelectronics (UMC) honorary vice chairman John Hsuan warned that global supply chains will be disrupted by war. He noted that exclusive suppliers face a severe impact, while alternatives exist if supplies are not unique.
Amid the intensifying global race in generative AI, Alibaba founder Jack Ma recently appeared alongside senior executives at Hangzhou Yungu School to address the technology's rapid evolution. Ma bluntly said that AI's technological capabilities are iterating on a "weekly" basis, warning that society's preparedness is struggling to keep pace.
ASUS IoT is redefining the urban landscape by positioning itself as the high-performance backbone for modern smart cities, using edge AI and machine learning to transform infrastructure into proactive, life-saving networks. At Automation World (AW) 2026, ASUS said that by deploying edge computers and intelligent sensors, it facilitates real-time traffic management, automated emergency response, and energy-efficient smart poles. This is all while navigating the complex regulatory and privacy landscapes of global markets. ASUS's approach targets 40% reductions in crime, 20% shorter commutes, and 15% lower greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. It is clear the company is preparing for a counterstereotypical future of smart cities, where "intelligence" may even adopt new meanings.
Taiwan is exploring regulatory measures to manage the rising electricity demand from AI computing infrastructure, even as the government rolls out incentives to accelerate the sector's development.
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